A Jaffa Cake Musical sets out to answer, once and for all, the eternal question of ‘Is it a Cake, or is it a biscuit?’
This question has of course been debated at great length, most noticeably in the 1991 VAT Tribunal between United Biscuits (the owners of McVities, Jaffa Cakes’ manufacturer) and HMRC – Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (as it was at the time). Gigglemug Theatre, Fringe stalwarts, have made this battle royale into their latest musical offering.
It’s fair to say that the technicalities of a Value Added Tax hearing do not make for the most riveting theatre production, Gigglemug has therefore injected a significant human element in the shape of junior Barrister Kevin (Sam Cochrane), and his more senior adversary, Katherine (Sabrina Messer).
The action begins a number of years before the Jaffa Cake trial, with Kevin and Katherine meeting on his first day at law school, when Katherine has already been studying for several years. They do not hit it off, and it’s fair to say that they become natural adversaries from that moment on.
Roll forward to 1991, and McVities, in the form of CEO Jake (Harry Miller) are being taken to court by The Taxman (Katie Pritchard). The Judge in charge (Alex Prescot) has to wrestle with the competing arguments and make his decision. An awful lot of money rests on the outcome. Kevin and Katherine are, of course, the opposing counsel.
If Jaffa Cakes are indeed a cake, they will remain Zero-Rated for VAT. If they are deemed a biscuit, VAT will have to be added to the cost – a potential price increase of 17.5%. The cost would run into millions, and Jake is concerned that the Great British public just wouldn’t stomach it.
The court arguments are made in a succession of songs of different styles, whilst the other plot strands – Katherine and Kevin’s animosity, and Kevin’s fallout with his parents over his choice to become a lawyer – bubble along in the background.
Somehow, Gigglemug makes the dry legal arguments easy to digest. The overall tone of the production seems to be channelling Spit Lip’s Operation Mincemeat, which similarly emerged from its beginnings on the Fringe before eventually graduating to become the Olivier award-winning West End behemoth it currently is.
Gigglemug also have previous form in creating successful musical productions, having been responsible for both Runesical The Musical, and Timpsons! The Musical at previous Edinburgh Fringes.
The production quality here is excellent, with impressive use being made of a very simplistic set, comprised principally of three movable curved railings, decked out in brown and orange, which are moved around the performance space to represent different locations within the narrative world.
Indeed, an overall theme of ‘orange’, to tie in with the jelly within the Jaffa Cake, is leaned into hard, and creates an overall design cohesion which is both pleasing and somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
The whole production is jokingly taking this bizarre moment in English legal history seriously, and the result is a show with a lot of heart, that tells its story with aplomb.
Underneath all of the legal and personal happenings, there’s a deeper story at play, about who defines what someone is, how we define ourselves, and who chooses the labels people are known by.
Soft like a cake, zesty like its orange filling, and ultimately satisfying, A Jaffa Cake Musical is a delightful confection. A story of becoming who you want to be, and the underdog winning over the might of the establishment, this show is strongly recommended.
A Jaffa Cake Musical continues at the Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Two (venue 33), at 15:10 (3:10 pm), until August, 26 (not 13)
Featured Image Credit: Gigglemug Theatre
